{"id":186,"date":"2026-08-16T16:55:38","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/?page_id=186"},"modified":"2026-08-16T17:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:36:13","slug":"conflict-of-interest-and-competing-interests","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/?page_id=186","title":{"rendered":"Conflict of Interest and Competing Interests"},"content":{"rendered":"
    \n
  1. Purpose and Scope<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    AMG Transcend Association requires transparent disclosure and appropriate management of competing interests throughout the submission, peer-review, editorial, publication, and post-publication processes of the journals it publishes.<\/p>\n

    This policy applies to authors, reviewers, Editors-in-Chief, editors, Editorial Board members, journal and publisher personnel participating in editorial activities, and other individuals whose interests or relationships may be relevant to scholarly evaluation or publication.<\/p>\n

    Individual journals may establish additional or more detailed disclosure requirements appropriate to their scope and editorial procedures.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Definition and General Principle<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      A competing interest exists when a financial, personal, professional, academic, institutional, commercial, intellectual property-related, or other interest or relationship could influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, an individual\u2019s judgment, objectivity, or decision-making in relation to scholarly work.<\/p>\n

      Competing interests may be actual, potential, or perceived.<\/p>\n

      The existence of a competing interest does not in itself establish bias, improper influence, or misconduct. Disclosure enables relevant interests to be assessed transparently and, where necessary, managed appropriately.<\/p>\n

      When there is reasonable uncertainty about whether an interest is relevant, disclosure is preferred.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Types of Competing Interests<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Relevant competing interests may include, but are not limited to:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • employment, consultancy, advisory, governance, or other professional relationships;<\/li>\n
        • honoraria, speaker fees, expert testimony, or other payments;<\/li>\n
        • stocks, shares, equity, stock options, or other financial interests;<\/li>\n
        • patents, patent applications, licenses, royalties, or other intellectual property interests;<\/li>\n
        • research grants, sponsored research, contracts, fellowships, or other financial support;<\/li>\n
        • provision of equipment, materials, drugs, reagents, software, analytical services, travel, or other material support;<\/li>\n
        • personal, family, supervisory, mentoring, or other close relationships;<\/li>\n
        • recent or ongoing collaborations or substantial co-authorship relationships;<\/li>\n
        • direct professional or academic competition;<\/li>\n
        • significant institutional or organizational relationships;<\/li>\n
        • relevant advocacy, governance, fiduciary, or leadership roles;<\/li>\n
        • involvement in disputes, investigations, litigation, or regulatory matters relevant to the work; and<\/li>\n
        • other circumstances that could reasonably call impartiality into question.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Shared institutional affiliation, scientific disagreement, participation in a broad research field, or another professional connection does not automatically constitute a competing interest. Relevance must be assessed according to the nature, proximity, significance, and relationship of the interest to the manuscript or editorial activity.<\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Authors<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Authors must disclose financial and non-financial competing interests that could reasonably be considered relevant to the submitted work or its interpretation.<\/p>\n

            Disclosure must be complete, accurate, and updated if relevant circumstances change during the editorial process.<\/p>\n

            Each author is responsible for identifying and disclosing their own competing interests. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating the collection and communication of appropriate declarations from all authors but does not assume responsibility for undisclosed interests held by another author.<\/p>\n

            Each manuscript must contain a competing-interests statement. Where no relevant competing interests exist, this must be stated explicitly.<\/p>\n

            Disclosure of a competing interest does not automatically prevent submission, peer review, acceptance, or publication. Editors must determine whether disclosure alone is sufficient or whether additional measures are necessary to protect transparency and editorial independence.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Funding, Sponsors, and Commercial Relationships<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Funding disclosure and competing-interest disclosure are related but distinct requirements.<\/p>\n

              Authors must identify relevant financial, material, institutional, or commercial support and, where applicable, describe the role of funders or sponsors in:<\/p>\n

                \n
              • study design;<\/li>\n
              • collection or generation of data;<\/li>\n
              • analysis of data;<\/li>\n
              • interpretation of results;<\/li>\n
              • preparation or review of the manuscript; and<\/li>\n
              • the decision to submit the work for publication.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                Where a funder or sponsor had no role in these activities, this should be stated where required by the applicable journal policy.<\/p>\n

                Research involving commercial products, services, technologies, devices, drugs, software, or other proprietary interests is not excluded from consideration solely because a commercial relationship exists. Such relationships must be disclosed and the work must remain subject to the same scientific, ethical, peer-review, and editorial standards as other submissions.<\/p>\n

                Funding, sponsorship, or commercial relationships must not provide a funder or other interested organization with inappropriate control over scientific interpretation, reporting, peer review, or editorial decisions.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. Peer Reviewers<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Reviewers must assess whether they have any competing interest that could affect, or reasonably appear to affect, their ability to provide an independent and impartial review.<\/p>\n

                  Relevant interests may include financial relationships, close collaborations, personal relationships, institutional connections, direct academic competition, intellectual property interests, or other circumstances substantially related to the authors or manuscript.<\/p>\n

                  A reviewer who has a conflict that prevents an independent assessment must decline or withdraw from the review.<\/p>\n

                  Where the relevance of an interest is uncertain, the reviewer must disclose it to the responsible editor, who will determine whether the reviewer may participate.<\/p>\n

                  Reviewers must not use confidential information obtained through peer review for personal, academic, financial, commercial, or competitive advantage.<\/p>\n

                    \n
                  1. Editors and Editorial Board Members<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    Editors must disclose relevant competing interests and must not handle manuscripts where their impartiality could reasonably be compromised or questioned.<\/p>\n

                    Where a significant conflict exists, the editor must recuse themselves and responsibility must be transferred to another appropriately qualified editor without the relevant conflict.<\/p>\n

                    Recusal must involve genuine transfer of editorial authority. The conflicted editor must not select reviewers, direct the peer-review process, determine revision requirements, participate in confidential editorial deliberations, or make or influence the final decision.<\/p>\n

                    Editorial Board membership does not exempt an individual from these requirements.<\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Manuscripts Submitted by Editors or Individuals with Editorial Roles<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      Editors, Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, journal personnel, and other individuals involved in editorial activities may submit scholarly work to a journal with which they are affiliated, but their position must provide no advantage in the editorial process.<\/p>\n

                      Where an author would normally have editorial authority or privileged access in relation to the manuscript, that individual must be excluded from its editorial handling.<\/p>\n

                      The manuscript must be assigned to another appropriately qualified editor without a relevant competing interest and with genuine authority over:<\/p>\n

                        \n
                      • reviewer selection;<\/li>\n
                      • peer-review management;<\/li>\n
                      • evaluation of reviewer reports;<\/li>\n
                      • revision requirements;<\/li>\n
                      • assessment of revised manuscripts; and<\/li>\n
                      • the final editorial decision.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                        The author-editor must participate in the process only in their capacity as an author and must not use editorial privileges, internal access, seniority, or professional authority to influence the evaluation.<\/p>\n

                        The same scientific, ethical, peer-review, and publication standards must apply as for submissions from authors without an editorial role.<\/p>\n

                          \n
                        1. Publisher Interests and Dual Roles<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                          Financial, administrative, institutional, reputational, strategic, or commercial interests of AMG Transcend Association must not improperly influence the evaluation or publication of individual manuscripts.<\/p>\n

                          Publisher representatives must not use organizational authority to require acceptance or rejection of a manuscript for reasons unrelated to legitimate scholarly and editorial criteria.<\/p>\n

                          AMG Transcend Association recognizes that the same individual may hold both publisher-level and journal-level responsibilities. Such roles remain functionally distinct.<\/p>\n

                          In particular, the President of AMG Transcend Association also serves as Editor-in-Chief of Biointerface Research in Applied Chemistry<\/em>. Where this dual role creates a relevant competing interest in relation to a manuscript or editorial matter, the individual must recuse himself from the affected process.<\/p>\n

                          Responsibility must be transferred to another appropriately qualified editor with independent authority to conduct and complete the relevant editorial process.<\/p>\n

                          The principles of disclosure, recusal, independent handling, and accountability apply regardless of an individual\u2019s seniority or organizational position.<\/p>\n

                            \n
                          1. Management of Disclosed Competing Interests<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                            Competing interests must be managed according to their nature, significance, proximity, and relevance to the manuscript or editorial activity.<\/p>\n

                            Depending on the circumstances, appropriate management may include:<\/p>\n

                              \n
                            • disclosure without further restriction;<\/li>\n
                            • clarification or expansion of a disclosure statement;<\/li>\n
                            • additional disclosure in the published article;<\/li>\n
                            • appointment of a different reviewer;<\/li>\n
                            • reassignment of a manuscript to another editor;<\/li>\n
                            • independent editorial or expert assessment;<\/li>\n
                            • restriction of an individual\u2019s participation in a particular editorial activity; or<\/li>\n
                            • another proportionate measure necessary to protect impartiality, transparency, and editorial independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                              The objective is not to exclude individuals solely because relevant relationships exist, but to identify and manage those relationships appropriately.<\/p>\n

                                \n
                              1. Undisclosed Interests Identified Before Publication<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                Where a previously undisclosed competing interest becomes apparent during submission, peer review, revision, or production, the journal must assess its relevance before proceeding.<\/p>\n

                                The journal may request clarification, an updated disclosure, supporting information, reassignment of a reviewer or editor, additional independent review, or other appropriate measures.<\/p>\n

                                A materially incomplete, misleading, or false disclosure may also raise a publication-ethics concern.<\/p>\n

                                Where an editor or reviewer has already participated despite a significant undisclosed conflict, the journal may independently reassess the affected editorial or peer-review activity and determine whether further evaluation is required.<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                1. Undisclosed Interests Identified After Publication<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                  A competing interest identified after publication does not automatically invalidate the published work or establish misconduct.<\/p>\n

                                  The journal must assess:<\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  • the nature and significance of the undisclosed interest;<\/li>\n
                                  • its relationship to the research and published conclusions;<\/li>\n
                                  • whether funding or sponsor involvement was incompletely reported;<\/li>\n
                                  • whether peer review or editorial handling may have been affected;<\/li>\n
                                  • whether readers require additional information to interpret the work appropriately; and<\/li>\n
                                  • whether the omission appears inadvertent, materially misleading, or potentially deliberate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                    Where the underlying work remains reliable and the primary issue is incomplete transparency, an updated disclosure or correction may be sufficient.<\/p>\n

                                    Where the conflict raises broader concerns about scientific independence, peer review, editorial integrity, data interpretation, or reliability of the publication, further independent assessment or other action may be required.<\/p>\n

                                    Post-publication action must be proportionate and taken in accordance with applicable publication-ethics and correction policies.<\/p>\n

                                      \n
                                    1. Confidentiality and Documentation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                      Information disclosed for the purpose of assessing competing interests must be handled with appropriate confidentiality.<\/p>\n

                                      Confidentiality must not be used to conceal information that readers reasonably require in order to understand a relevant competing interest. At the same time, transparency does not require publication of personal or sensitive information that is not materially relevant to the interpretation or integrity of the work.<\/p>\n

                                      Significant conflict-management decisions, including editor recusals or independent reassignment where appropriate, should be documented through the journal\u2019s editorial records.<\/p>\n

                                        \n
                                      1. Responsibility for Disclosure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                        Responsibility for identifying and disclosing a competing interest rests primarily with the individual who holds that interest or relationship.<\/p>\n

                                        Authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and other participants must not assume that disclosure is unnecessary because an interest is publicly known, appears elsewhere, or is already known informally to the journal.<\/p>\n

                                        AMG Transcend Association and its journals are responsible for providing clear disclosure requirements and mechanisms for assessing and managing relevant interests consistently and proportionately.<\/p>\n

                                        Failure to disclose a relevant competing interest may require editorial or post-publication action, but the response must reflect the nature and significance of the omission and its effect on the integrity or transparency of the scholarly record.<\/p>\n

                                          \n
                                        1. Relationship with Other Policies<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                                          This policy should be read together with applicable AMG Transcend Association and journal policies concerning:<\/p>\n

                                            \n
                                          • Editorial Independence and Governance<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
                                          • Peer Review Principles<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
                                          • Publication Ethics and Research Integrity<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
                                          • Authorship and Contributor Responsibilities<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
                                          • Advertising, Sponsorship and Commercial Activities<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
                                          • Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern<\/strong>; and<\/li>\n
                                          • Complaints and Appeals<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                            Journal-specific policies may establish additional disclosure requirements or procedures appropriate to the journal and type of content involved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                            Purpose and Scope AMG Transcend Association requires transparent disclosure and appropriate management of competing interests throughout the submission, peer-review, editorial, publication, and post-publication processes of the journals it publishes. This policy applies to authors, reviewers, Editors-in-Chief, editors, Editorial Board members, journal and publisher personnel participating in editorial activities, and other individuals whose interests or relationships […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":168,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-186","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=186"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":261,"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/186\/revisions\/261"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amgtranscend.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}